New Year, New Console: What I Love About the Switch

I still remember the day the first Nintendo Switch ad came out. I was at work, at an engineering news site with a big focus on new and upcoming tech. Two of my friends came rushing over, phones in hand, eager to show me.

I remember being distinctly unimpressed. I don’t know what was going on in my brain at the time (it’s very possible I was having a rough day, because that happened a LOT at that job), but it just didn’t inspire me.

It wasn’t until I joined the gaming community on Instagram that I really started to see the value of it, and you might remember a certain poem I wrote over a year ago about how much I wanted to get one. Now, a year after that and more than two years after the original announcement, I finally got my hands on a Nintendo Switch.

And here’s why it hasn’t had a break since I got it.

It has a lot of really cool games.

When the Switch was first announced, there were only a handful of games planned for it. Now, Nintendo has a whole bunch of really cool games from across its portfolio published for the Switch, including fun hybrids like Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle.

Because if there’s one thing I’ll love more than a Yoshi, it’s a dumbass Rabbid disguised as a Yoshi.

The other big seller for me is the new Pokémon game, which is the first actual one (not a spin-off like Stadium) designed to work on the big screen. Plus, you know, it’s the first since HeartGold and SoulSilver to let you walk around with your Pokémon!

Other notables:

Mario Kart 8 (which is very similar to the Wii version in terms of play mechanics)

Breath of the Wild

Super Smash Bros Ultimate

It makes multiplayer a breeze.

Usually, when you buy a console, it comes with one controller. If you want to play multiplayer, you’ll need to head out and buy a secondary controller (or pair another one you have kicking around the house).

The Switch actually comes with two controllers right off the bat, so Shane and I were able to play Mario Kart together right after unwrapping it, without even leaving his parents’ house on Christmas.

Plus, pairing Joy-Cons is ridiculously easy. You just slide it into the slot on the side of the Switch, click, done, you’re ready to play.

It’s travel-size.

It’s definitely bigger than a phone or a 3DS, but it still fits in my purse (yes, that’s my standard). Although I’ll probably want to get a case for it so nothing bad happens to it, I really like that I’ll be able to take my TV-sized games with me on adventures!

It also seems to have a decent battery life so far; with near-constant Pokémoning, it’s generally lasted about 8 hours on a charge.

So those are my experiences with the Switch so far! I’m really excited to keep learning about it, and maybe even get my hands on some unique Joy-Cons. Have you tried it? What did you think?